Bilboa to Portugalete

 Bilboa to Portugalete 

It was a very different day from the day before. It had rained in the night and there was a 90% chance of rain all day. The temperature had dropped ten degrees and I had to dig out a fleece as well as my waterproofs.

There are three major routes out of Bolboa to Portugalete, There is a 'scenic' route with a climb and views over the city, although as the route crosses Avril Mountain, we had already seen plenty of views of Bilboa. There is a route that follows the river on the west bank. The guidebook describes it as shorter but through urban sprawl and industrial areas, not surprising since Bilboa was an industrial centre and major port. 

The third option was along the east side of the river and a dedicated cycle route which my guidebook recommended although it was not the official Camino but ended up at the same destination. I took this route, passing the Guggenheim Museum for the second time in two days. 

It was an uninspiring walk through an industrial wasteland. It had once been busy but industry had modernised and moved to newer premises. If this was the recommended route, the others must have been a lot worse.  

But the best part of the route is at the end at the Bizkaia Bridge. It is the lowest downstream crossing of the Nervion River that flows through Bilboa. It had to be high to allow shipping to access the port but there was no narrow route between mountains to build such a bridge.  Ingenious Basque engineers came up with this solution. It is a high level suspension bridge but instead of carrying traffic at high level, it has a gondola suspended from the high level suspension bridge that carries traffic at river level across the river. 

The gondola part way across the river. 

Another view of the gondola crossing the river. 

My surprise hotel for the night. the four star Puente Colgante Boutique Hotel, such a great upgrade from cramped one or two star accomadation or homestays.